Unforgiven II
by SighKurauchi
Summary: The lost souls of Ruby and Kanan are thrown into afterlife for angels to decide their fate. (Direct sequel to Unforgiven, though you don't really need to read it to grasp the story)
1. Visitor Hummingbird

Ruby felt air enter her lungs. This was weird. She was supposed to be dead. Yet there she was, gasping for air greedily.

"Ruby?" a familiar voice called out. She knew the voice pretty well.

"Kanan-chan?" Ruby finally opened her eyes. Instead of her bathroom, she was now in an unfamiliar location with a tall white ceiling and walls of white marble.

"Why are you here?" Kanan asked, a hint of concern in her voice.

"Why is Ruby… where?" Ruby looked at the source of Kanan's voice to see that her nasty cuts are gone. Moreover, her usual clothes are gone too. Instead, Kanan was wearing a frilly white dress that went below her knees. Leather sandals on Kanan's feet looked a lot like those ancient Romans wore. Moreover, a crown of white flowers adorned her head. "Kanan-chan, you look gorgeous," Ruby said.

"I could say the same about you," Kanan said, and Ruby looked herself over. Indeed, she wore a similar dress and those same leather sandals. But most curiously, her forearm cut was gone as well.

"So where are we exactly, Kanan-chan? Is this… heaven?"

"I guess it's rather like a line for heaven," Kanan replied. "Looks like we have to wait here until we are called."

"Called where?" Ruby asked. And as she did…

"Kurosawa Ruby!"

…a strong female voice rocked the marble halls. Ruby turned her head to where the voice came from. It looked like a bright hall with a big table in the middle.

"I guess it's time for me to go," she said, then turned to face Kanan. The smaller girl hugged Kanan. "Good luck, Kanan-chan."

"Good luck to you too, Ruby," Kanan said, planting a small kiss on top of Ruby's head. The small redhead then pulled off and went to the big hall where she was called.

Entering the hall, she saw another four long hallways spanning from it as far as eye can see, all of the made of the same white marble with a lot of angel statues between the beds where people were lying or sitting on. Ruby walked up to the table.

"Kurosawa Ruby?" the winged woman sitting at the table asked, looking up from her big ledger to meet Ruby's gaze.

"Y-yeah?"

"Go on in. You're expected." The woman definitely looked like she doesn't like wasting time.

"Say, what's…" Ruby started, but the woman interrupted her.

"You'll have all your question answered. Just step through the door." All there's left to do for Ruby is to nod in acknowledgement and walk up to the tall double door, which opened up for Ruby, engulfing her in calming white light.

When the light subsided, Ruby found herself in a green field. She looked around. Quite a distance to her left there was a thick green forest. Ocean waves rolled up on a white sand beach to her right. Looking straight up, she saw a lonesome figure waving her. Ruby started walking towards the figure, and the farther away from the door she went, the closer to the figure she got, the calmer and happier she felt.

Coming close, Ruby was finally able to fully grasp the figure's features. The brunette woman was a spitting image of her own mother, her braid of waist-length hair was thrown over her right shoulder. She was dressed in frilly white dress, the hems and cuffs were sewn of blue lace, an assortment of small blue and white flowers adorning the hem just above the woman's chest. Big bright blue bow was tied beneath her chest, and the white lace parted to her sides, the clear white of the dress tied with thin blue ribbons, revealing a pale purplish-pink matter that ended just beneath her knees. See-through cloth went down from there, reaching all the way to gently touch the grass. The angel's feet were encased in a pair of shoes made of glass. Pretty gold diadem set atop the woman's head, a shape of crown with a shiny diamond adding to the image, her ears were covered by white fuzzy earmuffs, three white pieces of glass in form of a feather rimmed with gold spouting from the muffs. But what stood out the most were her wings. Small fins of pure gold encased her marginal and primary coverts, with the marginal part of gold fins further covered by big blue flowers. Pure white feathers made up the rest of the wings. Overall, Ruby was captivated by the beauty and purity of an angelic woman standing in front of her.

"Hello, Ruby," the woman said.

"Mom? How are you…"

"I'm afraid you're mistaken," the angel was quick to clear the confusion. "You see, here, where we stand, everything is based on your image of paradise. And we adopt the image of the most important person in each life. It's almost always mothers, with a few exceptions, of course."

"Exceptions?" Ruby asked.

"You're awfully inquisitive today, aren't you? Yes, sometimes they see their fathers, sometimes grandparents, siblings, spouses, kids even. It's very rarely that they see someone who isn't a close relative." The woman turned around, walking towards a small river flowing some ten meters further.

"You are quite interesting, Ruby," the woman said as she walked. "Who would've thought it would be quiet and meek crybaby Ruby who would go against her conservative parents' vision and not confident strong Dia?"

"You know about that?" Ruby asked, surprised.

"Why of course, darling, we know everything. Cutting your hair was a bold move knowing your parents wanted you to keep it long like your big sister's. But even though they seemed angry, deep inside they were proud of your independence. You know it, don't you?" Ruby merely nodded. "Thought so," the angel said.

Angel approached the river bank, and four rabbits ran to her feet, rubbing against the transparent fabric of her dress hem. She picked up a white rabbit and pet it on its head. Ruby reached out to pet the little furball herself, much to the angelic woman's delight. "From here you have two options," she said. "You are free to join me and a lot of others in Paradise. Or, you can go through Reformation."

"What's Reformation?"

"You go back in a different body. Most people refer to it as reincarnation, but it only works with humans, unlike what Hindus believe."

"So they are wrong in their image of afterlife?"

"This definitely doesn't meet the accepted image of afterlife," the angel mused. "They expect God himself judging them for every little thing they did or even thought, or just being plunged straight to Hell, some even expect nothingness, but we are here. Afterlife exists."

Ruby's face changed as a stray thought went into her head. "What about Kanan-chan?" she asked.

"Ah. Matsuura Kanan. I had a feeling you'll ask about her," the angel said melancholically. "Well, we are pretty sure that her continuous mistreatment of you revoked her right of entry into Garden of the Sun. And I'll have to say she's a fool if she thinks using your drugged out body to pleasure herself and then abusing your fears for her hedonistic pleasures is in any way worthy of joining you in Paradise." She then looked at Ruby, who looked at her with shocked expression. "I beg your pardon."

"So… there is only one way…" Ruby said, saddened.

"For you two to be together?"

"How did you..."

"I know everything, Ruby. Even now, your thoughts aren't a secret from me."

Ruby looked to her left, where a pathway of golden brick now led to a distance, the destination obscured in clouds. She then turned to face her angel, a confident look on her face.

"Then Ruby wants to be reborn," she said.

"Ruby, are you sure? There's no telling if you'll be allowed entry if you be reborn." The angel looked concerned. It's not every day that a lost soul would deny a place in paradise.

"Ruby's sure. Though Kanan-chan may be non-redeemable for you, her final moments did redeem her as much as Ruby's concerned."

Angel bit her lip. "Please wait for a moment," she said. A tall wooden arch door appeared behind her. The door then opened, revealing a wall of bright light. Angel then stepped into the light, and re-emerged from it not even a second later.

"The gods allowed it. You are also allowed to choose who you are born to."

"Really?" Ruby asked, rejoiced, as she jumped up to the angel and grabbed her hands.

"Yes, however you cannot choose your blood relative as a parent. That's the rule here."

"Oh. Okay. Ruby has only one candidate then."

The angel smiled as she heard those words. "With so much love and adoration to her, i doubt it would be anyone other than Koizumi Hanayo. Very well."

"How about Kanan-chan? Will we meet?"

"Of course you will, darling. The earliest you can meet in order to be lovers is 15 years, however. I don't think you would want to be friends after dying to suicide to be with her again, now would you?"

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" Ruby smiled ear to ear.

"But we will need for Kanan to accept our terms. I will have to join her angel to extend her an offer."

Another tall arch door appeared right behind the angelic woman. As the door itself opened and revealed a wall of light, the angel gently smiled.

"A new time with her awaits you. You will know when you'll see her. She'll have your eyes."

The angel stepped aside. Ruby walked to the door, then took a deep breath and confidently stepped into the warm comforting light.


	2. The Water Is Fine

"Matsuura Kanan!"

The same voice that called for Ruby a minute ago rocked the marble hall again. Kanan stood up and walked to the bright hallway.

"Lemme guess, the door behind you?" she asked the angel sitting at the huge desk.

"Correct," the angel replied.

"Thanks," said Kanan and walked through the huge double doors into the warm light.

When the light subsided, she found herself in a tiny island of sand in the middle of a vast blue sea. She saw another island in the distance, bigger and with thick palm forest. Gazing into the calm water, Kanan noticed a shallow path leading towards the island. With a confident stride she walked the path, warm water feeling very pleasant on her feet.

As Kanan approached the island, she saw a white figure waving her in. Coming closer, she took in the figure's features more prominently. It was a brunette angelic woman clad in long white dress, her white wings unfurled, feathers swaying ever-so-slightly in the light breeze. When Kanan came closer to properly see the angel's face, she stopped dead in her tracks. She was looking at her mother's face, her beautiful gentle smile reinforced the likeness.

"Hello, Kanan," the woman said.

"Mother? Is that…"

"I'm sorry, but no. We look like the most important people in your life when we get to greet you into your new lives."

Now standing next to the angel, Kanan took a more thorough look. Her dress was adorned with a blue ribbon under her chest, where the purple gradient started its descent down the angel's flat belly. Thin golden chain acted as her belt, adorned with pretty blue flowers. Small gold fins covered marginal and primary coverts of her wings. White frills reached down all the way to the woman's ankles, showing her feet clad in glass shoes. Gazing back into the angel's deep purple eyes, Kanan noted a pair of white muffs covering the woman's ears, three feathers of glass spouting from each, and a golden tiara on top of her head. "You look pretty," Kanan said.

"Still being a shameless flirt, hmm?" the angel teased. "I see why she loves you so much."

"Who are you talking about?"

"Don't you know? Kunikida Hanamaru, of course."

Kanan's face turned grim as she heard the name. "How is she doing?" she asked quietly.

"Aqours are keeping her and Kurosawa Dia company. Those two are getting close to each other, but it cannot replace what was taken from them." The angel turned to flash a smile, a bright contrast to Kanan's downtrodden expression. "They are learning to love anew, Kanan."

"I'm glad," Kanan let out a sigh of relief and smiled. "It's so good to know they're trying to move on."

"Not everything is the same, obviously. There are talks about withdrawing from Love Live. Guilty Kiss members, however, want to continue on their own."

"They should," Kanan said. "Mari, Riko and Yoshiko will totally win this, I'm sure of it."

"I'll pray for their success, then," the angel replied. "But enough about them. Let's talk about you."

"Look, I know what you're gonna say," Kanan was quick to cut the angel off. "I'm sure Maru just wanted something different and I was thinking too much about myself to let her explore it better. And what I did to Ruby was wrong on so many levels, but…"

"You fell in love with her, Kanan," the angel finished for her with a soft smile.

"Yeah. But all of it started so wrong, didn't it?"

"Oh yes. Using her barely conscious drugged out body for your own sexual satisfaction and threatening to kill her sister if she talks about engaging in such activities is definitely not a good way to start a relationship."

"But I wanted to make Dia pay!" Kanan exclaimed, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I thought… I thought she'd leave Maru alone when she finds out what's going on. I was so afraid to lose her."

"And by doing that, the distance between you and Hanamaru grew so great no bridge could lead you to each other anymore."

Uttering those words, the angel swept Kanan in a tight hug, caressing her hair, as the repentant brunette cried her heart out into angelic woman's bare shoulder.

"You know," she whispered into Kanan's ear, "if you didn't end it all by throwing your life away, you and Ruby would get to be a wonderful couple."

"You think?" Kanan asked.

"I'm certain of it. You saw it too when you thought of your future, right? You and Ruby together?" Kanan nodded. "She was destined to be with you."

"And instead of facing my feelings I just…"

"You were afraid to let go, Kanan," the angel said. "But Ruby would accept you even after all that abuse."

Kanan broke the hug and asked bluntly: "What will happen now?"

"I know Ruby will be offered to go to paradise."

"So this isn't paradise?" Kanan asked, dumbfounded.

"No. At least not yet."

"What about me then?" she asked again.

"You… don't have luxury of a choice here. You are to return back to the land of living and live another life. There's your ride," the angel said, nodding at something behind Kanan.

Turning back, Kanan saw a ferry boat. Standing next to it was a tall figure in a gray mantle. Taking a closer look, Kanan noticed a wrinkled face of an old man peering through the hood. The sleeves were too long to say confidently, but she was sure that his hands were that of a frail old man as well.

"Please," Kanan pleaded, "I just need to see her one more time before she ascends or however it works here."

"I'm sorry, Kanan, but it's impossible."

"God, if you are listening, I want to see Ruby,' Kanan cried out, looking up in the sky. "You can do anything, so setting us up with a short meeting is nothing for you."

As she said it, she heard the sound of heavy wooden door opening to her left. Looking at that direction, she saw a tall archway opening its heavy oak doors, exposing a wall of light behind them. Kanan turned to the angel.

"So I can just…"

"Go ahead."

Kanan immediately rushed to the door, disappearing in the white light. A second later, she emerged, her expression gloomy, her hands balled into fists. Without saying a word, she walked towards the boat.

"Let's get this over with," she said to the ferryman as she climbed in. The old man in the mantle silently nodded, then climbed in after Kanan and started rowing.

"It doesn't have to end like this, though," a voice behind Kanan said. She turned around to see another angel, a spitting image of Dia's and Ruby's mother, with the same set of wings and same white dress and her own angel. "You can begin again with her."

"Begin again?" Kanan inquired.

"Yes. Ruby denied paradise to start another life with you."

Kanan sat there, dumbstruck, a single tear rolling down her cheek. "That fool," she whispered.

"She loves you so much that she threw eternal happiness to be with you. I think you should at least honor her decision. But honor is one thing. Just nod and you'll have a new life where you can be her lover once again." Kanan nodded, her mouth still open in surprise. Ruby's angel smiled in response. "We're getting off here," the angel said, turning to the ferryman.

The boat came to a stop, and several wide marble blocks spouted out from the calm water. An arch doorway sprung its maw open, revealing the wall of white.

"How much time will i have to wait before I meet her?" Kanan asked as the angel stepped off the boat onto the stone platform.

"Fifteen years. It's the earliest we could find in order for you two to be lovers." The angel then offered her hand to Kanan, giving her a warm reassuring smile. Kanan took her hand without a hint of hesitation.

"A new time with her awaits you. You will know when you'll see her. She'll have your eyes."

The angel stepped aside. Kanan walked to the door, then took a deep breath and confidently stepped into the warm comforting light.


End file.
